The Resurrection of Jesus | The Theonauts

In this episode we discuss the hottest debated miracle of Jesus’ ministry; the Resurrection. From the moment His followers proclaimed His resurrection, there has been a backlash of other theories seeking to explain away the claim of a resurrected Savior. The theories we discuss in this episode are the swoon theory, twin theory, wrong tomb theory, alien theory, hallucination theory, and stolen body theory. In order to disprove the resurrection, theorists must effectively deal with these six historical facts:

Jesus was crucified

Jesus died as a result

Jesus was buried in a tomb

The tomb was found empty

Jesus’ friends claimed to see him after his death and believed in resurrection

Some doubters and enemies of Jesus claimed to see him after his death and believed in resurrection

Theories on the Resurrection of Jesus

The swoon theory is widely accepted among many of today’s sceptics, and has been made famous by Dan Brown’s novel The Da Vinci Code. It argues that Jesus actually did not die from the crucifixion, but was only “mostly dead” (many thanks to Billy Crystal). When Jesus “recovered” from the deadly scourging, crucifixion in which his hands and feet were pierced through by five to nine inch nails, arms pulled out of joint, and side being pierced with a spear through his lung and to his heart, He simply rolled away the stone, subdued the Roman guards, and went to hang out with his disciples for a while.

The twin theory argues that Jesus had an identical twin that was kept secret for only 32 ½ years before replacing Jesus just before He was crucified. Thus, they disposed of the twin brother, and Jesus went about claiming resurrection. This theory is the favorite one among those in prison who states “Hey, we’re innocent! It was a set-up! Our evil twin commented the murder! We swear!!”

The wrong tomb theory suggests that Jesus’ followers got it all wrong! It was the second tomb to the right, not the one with the giant stone and the guards! Wow…these followers of Jesus must be REAL simple minded, huh? They can’t even go back to the right tomb three days after they buried Jesus there. I mean all ya gotta do to prove that they went to the wrong tomb is to find the one where Jesus is buried….wait a minute, where’d He go?!

The alien theory says that Jesus survived the crucifixion because he was really an Alien. We at Theonauts think there should totally be an internet meme about this one; you know, with the Ancient Aliens guy who has the crazy hair. Besides the fact of this theory being falsifiable and therefore flawed, it would also be a really cruel trick on the part of alien Jesus. Much like the alien theory, the hallucination theory is falsifiable. It states that the disciples basically hallucinated the risen Savior. It’s kind of like when you and all of your buddies had the exact same dream, where you were all in it and did all of the same stuff. What? That’s impossible? Oh, I guess so.

Lastly, the stolen body theory says that Jesus’ disciples got together and stole His body. Then they went around claiming that He was the resurrected Son of God. This theory seems to be the most substantial and widely believed one. The only problem with it is the fact that all of the disciples were willing to die for their lie. Many crucified, some beheaded, one flayed alive. I mean, I’ve told a lie in my day, and even went to great lengths to make it seem real. But if you begin to cut my skin off in order to make me squeal, I’ll talk! These guys either believed what they saw, or were really hard core! Basically, it comes down to one of three realities. Either Jesus was a mad man, a liar, or the Son of God. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go where the evidence leads me.